


Still

by listenstomusic



Series: Overwatch High School AU [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, I dont want anyone getting hurt from my sad Shimada idiots, It gets really dark near the end, It gets really intense at the end, Shimada Brothers, The accident that makes genji all robotic-y, lowkey McCreeXHanzo if you squint, only high school, please dont read this if gore triggers you, some lowkey gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:15:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7326976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/listenstomusic/pseuds/listenstomusic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of what happened that made Genji who he is today: High School AU edition. </p>
<p>It was only when he looked up did he realize that he had been awake all night. Light was flooding in through the windows, lighting his darkly painted room with the first breaks of morning light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still

It was only when he looked up did he realize that he had been awake all night. Light was flooding in through the windows, lighting his darkly painted room with the first breaks of morning light. He removed his glasses, the yellow tinted glass specially made for staring at a screen for hours on end. It was done though, and that was all that mattered.

Genji rubbed at his eyes, letting out a soft yawn as he clicked the save button on the file. He closed his laptop, pushing away from his desk in order to stand.

Genji glanced to the clock, lifting up his shirt to throw it aside so he could crawl into bed. Six AM. School started in two hours. He predicted he would have maybe half an hour before the yelling started. That was enough. He’d double his dosage for the day if he really couldn’t stay awake.

Slipping into the neon green blankets of his bed, he shut his eyes immediately. Spending all night finishing a project for his English class wasn’t really what he wanted to spend his final days of the semester doing, but he sucked it up and pulled it off. Summer was coming, and that meant an end to being compared to him. At least, academically.

With fifteen minutes of sleep under his belt, Genji woke up to the sounds of a plate shattering on the tile kitchen floor. Good morning to you too, mom and dad. He rolled out of bed, immediately grabbing his phone off his nightstand and shoving his headphones onto his green head. He grabbed a shirt from his drawer, throwing on yesterday's pair of dark denims before grabbing his laptop and shoving it in his backpack. With his signature sweatshirt in hand, he sat back down on his bed.

One of those to keep his focus in place. Two of the purple to stop the shaking of his hands and the pounding of his heart. Four of the orange--just to make sure he’d be awake today. Tossing the pill bottles back into his bag, he silently wondered which of his final exams he had failed. The last two days had been nothing but tests and bullshit. At least that meant in two more days when the weekend rolled around he would be free. His family normally left the city to go to their lake house--but Genji had a plan. The tension had been boiling over, and now it was about to be released, and Genji would finally escape.

He passed his brother in the hallway, earning nothing more than a grunt from the older man. Prick. Hanzo was three years older, already on his last year. Following in the footsteps of daddy dearest, he was going into politics. Genji remembered that conversation. A splendid family dinner, with no yelling. It was a simple ‘Hanzo, you’re going to go to this college, and get your degree in that’ ‘Yes father’.

He didn’t know if his parents said goodbye to him, the music coming from his headphones too loud for him to tell properly. He didn’t think so at least. They didn’t when he had his headphones off, and now that he started blocking out their shouting with them on it was probably no different. His bike was locked up in the garage, next to the big fancy car Hanzo drove to school.

The school opened at seven, which meant he still had a bit of time before he’d be let inside to wait around in the halls until first bell. His morning routine was always the same. Coffee shop bagel, brush teeth in the bathroom, wash the lingering acne off in the small hopes of one day being clear, and leave once it hit seven. Hanging out with his friends in the arcade before school was always fun, but he needed to brush his teeth in a place where he wasn’t in fear of getting yelled at for the smallest minute thing.

 

Detention was probably the highlight of Genji’s week. At this point, he was trying to get it. Each detention he earned, was another hour he didn’t have to listen to his parents praise Hanzo. He had racked up an impressive amount, sitting pretty with six detentions to serve after school on Wednesday. That was six hours after school he didn’t have to go home. Genji took his seat at the back of the class, spotting two of his brother’s friends walking in. Jesse McCree and his pal Gabriel Reyes. The two final year students sat near each other in the back, but far enough from Genji. Didn’t want to hang out with the little twerp. That was fine with the green haired boy sitting in back, his first year in high school going swimmingly as far as he was concerned.

Taking out his phone, he went online to check his final grades. Straight C’s. Average, and he was happy with it. He was working hard damn it. He had his report card stuffed in his bag, but he had no intentions on showing it to his parents. He hadn’t even opened it himself. They just didn’t understand, and they never would.

Detention was great. Genji surfed the web on his phone, played a few rounds of solitaire to try and beat his record (a minute and six seconds to complete a game), and even was able to catch up on some of the sleep he had missed the night prior. It was only when a hand set itself on his shoulder did he jolt awake, nearly expecting his father to be shouting at him.

“Genji, it’s time to go.” It was McCree, his almost bearded jaw (he was trying so hard) tilted from how he was looking down. “Hanzo’s waitin’ outside to pick me up. You need a ride? It’s rainin’ pretty bad out there.”

“No, I will be fine.” Genji muttered, shoving his phone into his sweatshirt pocket before making his way to the exit. He threw his sling backpack on, pulling up his hood as he stepped out of the school. The warm summer air hit him like a punch in the face, making his face turn red. It was sickeningly hot outside, which made wearing that sweatshirt particularly hard. But he had to--it hid his shaking hands. Passing by the sleek black car he recognized from the garage in the morning, Genji made his way to the bike rack. Rain hit his back aggressively, making his clothes grip his body in a sticky and muggy fashion. He unchained his black bicycle, shoving the chain his his pocket instead of his bag in his rush.

The car honked. Fuck. Genji turned around, spotting the familiar face of his older brother leaning out the window.

“Get in.” The older man ordered, his tone cold and emotionless. Like he wasn’t really sincere in his offer for a ride.

“I’m good!” Genji called out in return, pulling his bike off the rack. He hopped on, starting to pedal down the street. The car honked again, making Genji cringe as he slowed his roll. He looked back over his shoulder, watching as the car drove up beside him.

“Come on kid, get in.” It was McCree this time, leaning out the window with that big smile of his.

“I have my bike-”

“Leave it. Hanzo can give you a ride tomorrow. Come on! It’s rainin!” McCree called out again.

“I’m fine.” Genji frowned, staying out in the rain.

“Kid come on, I’ll pull you in myself if I have to. Go chain it up, Hanzo wait ‘til he gets in.” With a heavy sigh, Genji rode back the thirty or so feet he had nearly escaped on. He chained his bike back up, clicking the lock into place before jogging over to the car. He slid in back quietly, closing the door as soon as he got his second foot in. The ride was quiet, no one having the courage to break the tense silence that lingered in the air. It only got worse after they dropped McCree off, the New Mexican giving a little ‘bye Genji, bye Hanzo’ before jumping out.

 

The drive out to the lake house had been...eventful. Masterfully dodging questions that were thrown his way, pretending to sleep, and blasting his music to block out the occasional fight over directions. Genji managed to survive--but the dinner was what really got to him. Mother dearest had noticed someone had been stealing from her prescription pad. She was a doctor, a big hot shot one at that. The way she phrased it though, that was what got under Genji’s skin.

“I noticed today that I am short on a few of my prescription pads. With one of those, anyone could get any prescriptions they wanted.” Staring straight at Genji. “Enough to have one crazy party. Enough to go on some extreme trips.”

The youngest Shimada had enough. He was planning to wait a few days, but the opportunity presented itself. He could hear his parents in the living room. He heard the smack, the shout of pain, and the apologies afterwards. It seemed father was the one getting hit tonight. Even with his bigger camping backpack on his shoulders it was easy to slip away. Opening the window and climbing out onto the roof. He let himself hang down off the gutters, dropping to the ground with a soft thud and a roll. Hanzo had gone out with a few friends that had come up for the weekend. It was perfect. He sent a text to his friend Tekhartha--who was all for Genji running away.

‘On my way. B there in a few days.” he texted, before tossing his phone into his sweatshirt pocket.

Genji grabbed his bike from the bike rack on the back of the family car, throwing his leg over it as he pushed off. With adrenaline pumping in his veins, Genji didn’t look behind him as he made his way down the road. He had been preparing for this for months.

He remembered all the youtube videos clear as day, and soon had a fire going. It was a bit past midnight, and his legs ached from riding for so long. He had made it maybe made it thirty miles away before pulling over from exhaustion. Three hours of continuous riding had his tailbone feeling a little more than sore. He stared down at the fire, letting his eyes close for a moment to relax and enjoy the freedom.

The sound of crunching leaves was what broke him out of his trance, his back straightening as he sat up properly on his little rock stool. He stood quickly, grabbing his bag in case it was a bear or something he would have to run from. The crunching grew closer, until it was right next to him.

“Genji?” The southern drawl asked, the New Mexican stepping out into the small clearing Genji had found between a few trees. Fuck. Worse than a bear. That meant that Hanzo was-Genji spun on his heel, one arm already in the strap of his bag as he ran face first into the shirtless chest and smacked off with a loud ‘oof’. He went stumbling a few steps, before catching himself with flailing arms. His foot hit the rock he had been sitting on earlier; man, that would have been terrible if he had tripped.

“What do you want, Hanzo?” Genji spat, glaring up at his older brother. He wanted to cry.

“You aren’t subtle, Genji.” Hanzo’s voice was cool and collected, his arms crossing as he stood in his swim trunks. “We saw you as you were riding.”

“I was wonderin’ where you were goin’ so late at night.” McCree said from behind, stepping around the fire to stand next to Hanzo. “By the looks of it, you were runnin’ away.”

“That’s none of your business.” Genji shot back defensively, glaring at the two older men. McCree at least looked concerned, his eyebrows curved with worry as he looked down at the younger Shimada brother. Hanzo on the other hand, had disappointment written all over his face, a familiar look that Genji was nearly laughing at.

“What are you thinking? What about when Mother and Father find out-”

“How many days do you think it would be before they figured it out? They’re too busy abusing each other to really give a crap.” Genji retorted, glancing over at his bike a moment. McCree followed his gaze, and moved to stand in front of the bike to block Genji’s exit. Damn.

“Come on, my car is on the road. You’re coming home.” Hanzo said firmly, already turning to leave.

“I’m not going back home.”

“Yes you are, Genji come on.” Hanzo stopped at the edge of the trees, looking back to his brother with a scowl on his face. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, leaving him looking more and more like their father with every worry line on his face.

“Hanzo no. What do I have left there? Mother and Father hate me, and you barely talk to me. Why would I go home?”

“Because we are a family Genji,” Hanzo sighed

“You’ve said it yourself, I’m a disgrace to the family name.” Genji shot back. Hanzo blinked, his eyebrows curving down into a sharp glare as Genji answered a bit too fast for his liking.

“Oh come on now fellas, I think we can talk this over in the car ride home. You two are in need of some serious bonding time.” McCree tried, but was stopped when Hanzo held out a hand.

“Why must you be so overdramatic? This is what is wrong with you.” The foolish Shimada barked. “Get in the car Genji.”

“No.”

Hanzo was always fast, but Genji had missed his last few martial arts tournaments. Genji didn’t know the full extent of his reflexes. The older man had a grip on his arm and his backpack in a matter of seconds, pulling him by force away from the little camp he had set up. Genji pulled, managing to pull away from Hanzo with the loud shriek of fabric ripping. As Genji moved his backpack ripped open, letting his clothes fall out in a mess.

“Now look what you did!” Hanzo shouted, letting go of the shredded piece of fabric that had managed to rip a fingernail out. Genji glared, his eyeliner still on from earlier just making his squint all the more punctuated.

“It’s okay! I’ll grab one of our towels and we can wrap everythin’ up in there.” Jesse offered, jogging away in his sandals and swim shorts. Genji crouched down, starting to gather up the clothes that had fallen out of his bag. Hanzo let out a soft sigh, watching his brother scramble to collect his belongings. A flash of plastic caught his eye-and he was soon moving.  
Hanzo crouched down, quickly snatching the clear plastic kitchen bag off the ground. He held it up, watching Genji’s expression shift from anger to pure rage.

“Give me those.” The younger brother said firmly.

“You took mother’s notepad. Fueling an addiction problem, brother?” Hanzo spat, looking over the multitude of colored pills in the bag. It was nearly full, which meant he had been preparing for the three months he wouldn’t be able to get a refill on his addiction.

“What?! Hanzo give me those back, I need them.”

“Of course, the addiction would be noticeable without it.” Hanzo threw the bag into the fire, making the younger Shimada audibly cry out. He blinked as Genji made a dive for it, reaching out to snag the younger man by the back of his collar.

“No!” Genji shouted, fear welling up in his stomach as he watched the bag land right in the middle of the logs he apprehended from a nearby campsite. His anxiety medications. Gone. His ADHD meds--going up in spoke. His depression medicine, vanishing. Genji stood up, hands clenching into tight fists as he felt heat rising behind his eyes.

“Why must you be this way Genji? Why can’t you be more like-”

“You?” Genji finished, shoulders shaking as he held back his anger.

“Yes.”

Genji blinked a few times, letting out a cool breath before he spun around, a fist flying at his brother’s face. Hanzo ducked down, his reflexes much faster than the younger Shimada’s.

“What are you doing?!” He yelled, ducking under the second fist that came his way.

“I hate you!” Genji roared, swinging a third fist. He was getting closer and closer, inching his way forward to back Hanzo up. “You stupid, selfish-” he punctuated each word with a fist, coming closer and closer to Hanzo’s face “Asshole!” An uppercut this time, breaking the pattern he had set before. He felt his fist connect with Hanzo’s jaw, making the other man’s world spin in circles.

Hanzo’s head was throbbing already, his glare sending a migraine ripping through his brain. He tasted blood when the fist connected with his chin, his head snapping back as he took a few steps back. He didn’t know he had opened his mouth until he heard his own angry shout echoing around the empty woodlands, his own fist flying out to catch his brother square in the nose. Genji’s eyes were closed, all consciousness leaving his body when his brain hit the back of his skull from the force of the punch. He watched the tuft of green hair stumble back, blood squirting from his nose as his foot got snagged on the rock he had been sitting on; and he started to fall.

Falling. He was falling. Hanzo froze, his eyes wide as he watched. Genji was collapsing backwards, plummeting towards the earth.

Plummeting towards the fire.

Genji’s body hit the pile of logs, smashing down on the center of the pile. Sparks flew, embers dancing in the open air as the pale flesh started to burn. Hanzo didn’t move, his eyes wide and open mouth leaking blood as he watched. The world was a blur, and before he knew it he was stumbling to the side, Jesse bounding past with a towel in his hands. Genji wasn’t moving, the fire spreading along his dry clothes as if they were soaked in lighter fluid.

Hanzo stood perfectly still, watching until Jesse was shouting at him. He didn’t hear a word the man said--but it was clear he was crying. Kneeling down next to the remains of the fire he held Genji’s body close in his arms, having wrapped the smoldering boy in the towel. Genji wasn’t on fire anymore, but his burnt skin sure made it look like he was. He could see white, and upon further staring he realized it was Genji’s bones. Most of the flesh and meat had been burned off. His jeans were gone, obliterated in the fire that had melted away his hair. Hanzo watched as Jesse stood, lifting Genji in his arms as he started to move. Hanzo followed numbly, vaguely aware he was ordered to do so. He didn’t know who had driven, or how long it had taken to get there-- but they were in the hospital.

Genji was in an operating room, and McCree was pacing back and forth in the hallway talking in a distressed tone on the phone. Hanzo didn’t blink away the tears that threatened to fall, his breathing slow in his chest as he relived the memory of his brother falling.

As he relived the memory of his brother burning.

As he relived the memory of his brother dying.

As he relived the memory of him killing his brother.

Hanzo sat still in his chair, still enough to rival Genji’s limp body as the doctors did what they could.


End file.
